Why do vaccines contain “dangerous” ingredients? Because without them, they wouldn’t be as effective.

MinuteEarth has a great video explaining why you shouldn’t be afraid of the supposedly dangerous chemicals in vaccines. For the vast majority of people, exposure to the itsy-bitsy amounts of these chemicals in vaccines is way better than letting the nasty pathogens run the show. The dose makes the poison, folks.

For more: Check out my video Why Vaccines Work to learn how these life-saving inoculations work and why they’ve changed the world:

Aletta enrolled at the University of
Groningen in 1871 as the Netherland’s first female university student. In 1878, she graduated from Amsterdam
University as the country’s first female physician. After graduation, Aletta ran a free clinic
for women and children in Amsterdam. She
offered pessaries to her patients and her clinic is sometimes considered the world’s
first birth control clinic.

Aletta was also involved in the women’s
rights movement both at home and abroad.
She was a founding member of the Vereeniging voor Vrouwenkiesrecht (Dutch
Woman Suffrage Alliance), the International Woman Suffrage Alliance, and the
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

In 1883, Aletta attempted to vote. At the times, women were not explicitly
forbidden from voting in the Netherlands, but there was an income requirement
which Aletta met. In response, the Dutch
Parliament added the word “male” to the list of voting qualifications
in 1887. Dutch women were not granted
the right to vote until 1919.

Normally, when you think of venomous things, you imagine snakes, spiders, or scorpions - not snails. But in this SciCafe, Mandë Holford, a research associate at the Museum and Associate Professor of chemical biology at Hunter College, discusses her research into the relatively unknown predatory marine snails, such as cone snails, the toxins they produce in their venom, and how those toxins are being used in the search for new medicines for pain and cancer.

Because i honestly am having a hard time deciding what i wanna do at uni. Can yiuguys share your experiences, thoughts & feelings about both study and practice. I qanna get first hand, like, opinions lol

Southern Women In The Civil War-
This was the trial that tested the grain and purity of our womanhood, and left it without alloy of fear or selfishness

And there was no section of the South where this desire to do all they might, and more was oftener in evidence than another. In every camp of the early days of the great struggle, the incoming troops bore trophies of home love, and as the war progressed to need, then to dire want–the sacrifices of those women at home became almost a poem, and one most pathetic. Dress–misconceived as the feminine fetish–was forgotten in the effort to clothe the boys at the front; the family larder–ill-stocked at the best–was depleted to nothingness, to send to distant camps those delicacies–so equally freighted with tenderness and dyspepsia–which too often never reached their destination. And later, the carpets were taken from the floors, the curtains from the windows–alike in humble homes and in dwellings of the rich–to be cut in blankets for the uncomplaining fellows, sleeping on freezing mud.

So wide, so universal was the rule of self-sacrifice, that no one reference to it can do justice to the zeal and devotion of “Our Girls.” And the best proof of both was in the hospitals, where soon began to congregate the maimed and torn forms of those just sent forth to glory and victory. This was the trial that tested the grain and purity of our womanhood, and left it without alloy of fear or selfishness. And some of the women who wrought in home and hospital–yen in trench and on the firing line–for the “boys,” had never before handled aught rougher than embroidery; or seen aught more fearsome than its needle-prick. Yes, these untried women, young and old, stood fire like veteran regulars! indeed, even more bravely in moral view, for they missed the stimulus of the charge–the tonic in the thought of striking back!

T. C. DeLeon’s Eloquent Tribute to Their Courage WHAT THEY DID FOR WOUNDED AND SUFFERING SOLDIERS. The Hospital Offered Opportunities for Heroism. [From the New Orleans, La., Picayune, June 12, 1904.]
http://civilwarhome.com/southernwomen.htm

I’ve been thinking about this post for quite a while now, and I have finally decided how I want to approach it. If you have any suggestions, please comment or message me! So, when I started medical school 18 months ago all I had available to me was a crazy long list of textbooks recommended by the university. It has been an uphill battle figuring out what textbooks are helpful and which are less than helpful. So this is my masterpost of resources I’ve used for medical school thus far, organised by systems!

Basics

You’ll need a good anatomy atlas, physiology text and pathophysiology book as a bare minimum. Most universities also guide you towards a clinical skills book of some sort.

Anatomy:

Rohen and Yokochi “Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body”

I used an old version of this book, and it was amazing for our human dissection block, I would strongly recommend it.

Physiology:

Boron “Medical Physiology”

Guyton and Hall “Textbook of Medical Physiology”

I used a combination of these two, Boron can be very heavy, so I only used it for topics I had a really good grasp of and wanted to know more about. I would recommend Guyton over Boron if you can only get one.

Pathophysiology:

Robbins and Cotran “Pathologic Basis of Disease”

This is one of the best books ever written. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Clinical and Practical Skills:

Talley and O’Connor “Clinical Examination”

This was recommended by my university. It is a good textbook, however I’ve recently discovered:

and I personally prefer this, but it is much more concise, so Talley is great for all the background information.

Cardiovascular

Lilly “Pathophysiology of Heart Disease”

This textbook is fantastic, very easy to read and covered all of our cardiovascular block thoroughly.

Respiratory

West “Respiratory Physiology: The Essentials”

This book can be a bit hit and miss. I really didn’t like respiratory physiology, so I struggled a bit with this one, I used a combination of Guyton and Hall, and West. For pathophysiology you can’t go wrong with Robbins and Cotran.

Genitourinary

I didn’t use a specialised book for this block. For physiology I used Boron, which was insanely hard as a first year student. I also used Guyton and Hall at the end of the block, which was much better. So I’d definitely recommend Guyton and Hall for physiology and Robbins and Cotran for pathophysiology.

Gastrointestinal

Chew “Crash Course Gastrointestinal System 3e”

I really liked this book for this book, I thought it covered the hepatic system very well, overall it was very easy to read and understand. This book and Guyton and Hall if you wanted to supplement it would be great. As always, Robbins and Cotran for indepth pathophysiology.

Endocrine and Reproductive

The little orange book (TBA)

This was one of my favourite blocks! The university recommended Greenspan’s “Basic and Clinical Endocrinology”, which for what we needed was probably too much. I found a fantastic little orange book at the library, which I will need to go get the name of, so keep an eye on this if you need a good endocrinology book.

Psychiatry

Kaplan and Saddock’s “Synopsis of Psychiatry”

This is actually a really great book for any psychiatry you might do. We only used it for four weeks, but I’d definitely recommend hiring a copy if you can!

Neurology and Neuroanatomy

Yogarajah “Crash Course Neurology, 4e”

Fix “BRS Neuroanatomy”

This has been an incredibly hard block to find a good text for, at a reasonable price. These two have been very helpful, and I find them easy to read. Only time will tell if it has been enough to pass!

Musculoskeletal

Jenkins “Hollinshead’s Functional Anatomy of the Limbs and Back”

This is the most amazing textbook for any block of all time ever. Literally. It is so good! I’ve used a combination of this book, and:

Moore and Dalley’s “Clinically Oriented Anatomy”

for our musculoskeletal block. It’s been absolutely fantastic. I’ve enjoyed it so much! I would also recommend investing in some quality flashcards. I have:

Hansen “Netter’s Anatomy Flash Cards”

Which have been great, another really great resource has been WinkingSkull.com, which you do have to pay for, but it is helpful!

Other

So, there are a few other resources I’ve used that have been very helpful. Mostly online databases and websites but I thought it would be handy to have them. Many (most?) universities have subscriptions to them so try your university library website!

These guys are great for understanding what you’re actually supposed to be seeing on any radiological film. I’ve been using it a lot for musculoskeletal, looking at Le Fort fractures, etc.

Toronto Notes

So I just borrowed a friend’s copy of Toronto, but I believe there may be online access. Maybe an online version. It’s great for an overview and is a little more clinically focused. I really liked it for gastrointestinal, psychiatry and neurology.

I know I’ve probably missed a few things, I’ll add them as I think of them but I hope this helps a few pre-clinical medical students out there! If it’s helpful I’ll keep you posted as I move into my clinical years on new texts and resources I find helpful!

hello! i've just discovered your blog and was hoping to get some advice on studying medicine as i have an offer which i have to accept/reject soon. it's always been my dream to do so and i probably will accept it but i was wanting to know, how do you like the course, does it go against veganism (animal testing and research) and is it possible to still care about oneself in terms of mindfulness, yoga & meditation (time management basically)? thank you so so much x

Hey angel, feel free to message me off anon if you want a more personalized response. My answer is only due to my personal experiences and the way in which medicine fits with me, so I must apologize if this is perceived as negative,but here you go. Yesterday my friend lettuceparty and I were discussing it - she is 5th year med - and we both said that we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, and we both said that if we were to advise our children we would say don’t do it, don’t do it if you are anything like me, if you want a life outside of medicine, if you want to do something fulfilling, that facilitates happiness and nourishes you mentally and physically.

It is difficult and nearly impossible to take care of yourself mentally and physically in the later (and even former) years of medicine. Statistic say that 1/5 medical students experience suicidal ideations, medical professionals experience higher levels of distress and depression than other members of society, they engage in risky drinking habits, get less sleep and work longer hours and experience burn out at an alarming rate.

Work place bullying is prolific and we are still largely taught using fear based tactics. There is little support for medical students experiencing distress (this has been my experience and the experience of every one of my colleagues, in fact is practically a running joke that we pay the school $5,0000AUD a semester to teach ourselves everything without a modicum of support).

As far as veganism or having alternative thought goes, they won’t survive, many of my holistic mannerisms have been squashed as i’ve progressed, because you have to in order to survive, there is no room for alternative thought, and medical professionals aren’t here to think about the animals, you will be mocked - I have been mocked endlessly for expressing a tiny amount of individual thought. All of the drugs we prescribe are tested on animals, many of them contain animal products, the implants we use are often from animals… It’s difficult to say the least, because my personal values are entirely misaligned.

This year I have been lucky if I exercise once a week, due to doing 12 hour days at the hospital 5 days a week + study. It’s very difficult to have healthy mind/body techniques in 4th year. I’m still dreaming of the day I can go to yoga regularly, right now it’s just not worth getting a memebership I don’t use. I have a 24 hour gym membership, and even that has gone to waste at the moment.

I know this sounds utterly pessimistic, but I just wish someone had told me this before I started - all I ever heard was “the hardest part is getting in” I can tell you that that is an absolute lie. Medicine doesn’t get easy for years, and in some specialties it never gets easy. If I could do it again I would choose differently, and I would choose something that aligns with my core beliefs and allows me time to do the things I love and to look after myself

I struggle with medicine for all of these reasons outlines, however medicine is something I fell into, it’s never been a dream of mine, I never wanted it badly or tried hard to get it, so maybe I don’t appreciate it as much as others. And there are certainly people out there it suits - your typical type A who wants to be successful and prove something of themselves. Unfortunately that’s not me, I don’t feel a need to prove anything, and I don’t see the point in burning myself out to succeed in something I find rather frivolous.

One benefit of medicine (which keeps me here, along with my massive student debt) is that it is a great degree to have on paper, the degree opens many doors. It’s very possible to get the degree and never practice clinical medicinek, you can take it anywhere, you can do research, or study something else or go into other areas of medicine aside from hospital/clinical medicine. And if you wish to do work within nutritional or integrative medicine, you will be taken much more seriously than others with a naturopathy or other degree. I like to look ate doctors such as Dr McDougall, Dr Esselstyn, Dr Garth Davies, Dr Colin Campbell (not a medical doctor), Dr Greger, and other plant based professionals as my inspiration and little beacon of light!!

Good luck with your decision, and to be honest most other medical schools are better than mine, in that they provide more organization and support, so if you choose to go ahead you can take solace in that. Feel free to message me off anon if you want to chat. Much love and light xx

“Capgras Syndrome, named for its discoverer, the French psychiatrist Jean Marie Joseph Capgras. The person’s primary delusion is that a close relative or friend has been replaced by an impostor, an exact double, despite recognition of familiarity in appearance and behavior. The patient may also see himself as his own double. Also know as Delusional misidentification, illusion of doubles, illusion of negative doubles, misidentification syndrome, nonrecognition syndrome, phantom double syndrome, subjective doubles syndrome.

Delusions are false beliefs, sometimes with bizarre content, that are held with strong conviction even in the presence of contrary evidence. For persons suffering from Capgras Syndrome they typically believe they exist in a world of impersonators. This feeling in a delusional world of doubles can be so alarming that it drives the Capgras sufferer to psychotic behavior. The syndrome typically has the following characteristics:

The person is convinced that one or several persons known by the sufferer have been replaced by a double, an identical looking imposter.

The patient sees true and double persons.

It can may extend to animals and objects.

The person is conscious of the abnormality of these perceptions. There is no hallucination.

The double is usually a key figure for the person at the time of onset of symptoms. If married, always the husband or wife accordingly.”

Hey guys also:
If you’re like me and your period is super painful and you take medicine to help the pain like every six hours, but your stomach is sensitive, please avoid medicine such as ibuprofen and aleve. Amongst other problems with the medicine, it’s caused serious irritation to my stomach due to how much I take during my period. My doctor recommended medication specifically targeted for menstrual cramps. But read it first and see if it can be irritating.
My symptoms have been constant nausea and pain. Keep yourselves healthy.
Also bananas help with the pain!